Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos will present the governor’s proclamation declaring February 8, 2018 as “Legal Records Appreciation Day” on Thursday, the 8th of February beginning at 7 pm at the Center for Research in Vermont, which is holding a tribute that evening to Dr Samuel B Hand. Dr Hand set the ground work for the identification, preservation and accessibility of legal records, specifically court records, in this state. The tribute to Dr. Hand will be held in the Memorial Lounge in the Waterman Building at the University of Vermont.

In recognizing legal records as a vital aspect of Vermont’s history, and to highlight their ability to enlighten and guide current and future generations, Vermont Governor Phil Scott has signed a proclamation declaring February 8, 2018 as “Legal Records Appreciation Day.”

Vermont’s legal history extends many decades previously involving colonial-era institutions, including New York courts and personnel acting under the authority of England, and then Vermont, followed by more than two centuries of development of legislative, executive, and judicial functions, affecting all manners of society.

Through the work of archivists and other information professionals at the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, the Vermont Historical Society, Special Collections at the University of Vermont, the New York State Archives, and other historical records repositories both within the state and elsewhere, legal records in various formats ranging from fragile parchment to digital, and including charters, patents, grants, deeds, surveys, maps, petitions, and many others, are preserved and made accessible to legal practitioners, historians, academia, and the public.

Secretary Condos is honored to be recognizing Legal Records Appreciation Day, and the important role legal records have in preserving our local history.